221 



y 1 



REPORT 



ON 



SUGAR BEETS, 



Raised upon the Farm of the 



Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



By CHARLES A. GOESSMAKN, Ph. D., 

Professor of Chemistrv. 



Reprinted from the American Chemist. 



NEW YORK: 
S. AxGELL, Printer, 410 Fourth Av. 

1872. 



REPOBT 



ON 



SUGAR BEETS, 

Raised upon the Farm of the 

Massachusetts Agricultural College. 

By CHAKLES A. GOESSMANK Ph. D., 

Professor of Chemistry. 



Reprinted from the American Chemist. 



NEW YORK: 
S. Angell, Printer, 410 Fourth Av. 

1872. 



REPORT ON SUGAR-BEETS, RAISED UPON 
THE COLLEGE FARM. 

BY CHARLES A. GOESSMANN, PH. B. 

Professor of Chemistry in the Mass. Agricultural College 

In a previous report,* I expressed the opinion, that 
the profitable cultivation of the sugar-beet for the 
manufacture of sugar, must depend, if not exclu- 
sively, at least essentially, on the interest, which intel- 
ligent agriculturists will take : 

First^ in a careful selection of superior seeds of the 
best foreign varieties, and subsequently of the choic- 
est seed-beets ; and, 

Second^ in the proper choice of lands, which are 
not only well adapted to the cultivation of root crops 
in general, but also in such a state of fertility, as to 
enable the farmer to control the kind and the 
amount of plant food required for the production of 
a special crop, for special purposes, i. e. Sugar-beets 
for the economical manufacture of sugar. Considering 
these premises of first importance, I attempted a 
short exposition of the ways and the means, by which 
these requirements have been accomplished else- 
where, showing how farmers and manufacturers, by a 
mutual understanding, have contrived to promote 
their mutual interest, and that their great success was 
particularly due to the fact, that the former, in his 
legitimate attempts to produce a large crop, never 
failed to keep in mind, that the ultimate object was 
to secure a sugar-beet, which would contain the de- 
sired amount of sugar under advantageous conditions 
for its separation. He knew that the manufacturers 
would value every percentage of sugar about 2-4 
cents, with more or less of the vegetable refuse of 
roots, and leaves returned. The history of the 
pioneers in the beet sugar industry in every country 
— ours not excepted — furnishes striking illustrations 
in that direction. German beet sugar manufacturers 
do not hesitate to ascribe their great success, over 

* Seo American Chemist, Vol. i, pp. 381-399- 



other competitors at the World's Exhibition at Paris 
in 1867, to their superior sugar-beets.* 

To transfer a known process of manufacture from 
one country to another, is a simple problem, and 
offers in skilled hands but little risk, in cases where 
the materials to be turned to account can be shown 
to be either identical, or to stand at least in some 
simple, fixed relation to those which have been pre- 
viously used. Quite different, however, are the cir- 
cumstances, when the introduction of an industry — 
like beet sugar manufacture — is contemplated, for a 
good sugar-beet is the result of the particular influ- 
ence of peculiar modes of farming, of soil and of 
climate. To suspect a possible serious change in the 
composition of a sugar-producing plant like the 
sugar-beet, in consequence of a transfer of its seed 
from one country and soil to another, is but reasona- 
ble in view of our past experience concerning sugar- 
cane* (sorghumf), the cultivated grapes, and fruits 
of every description. The sugar-planters of Louisiana 
and of the West Indies, have to accommodate their 
modes of operation for the manufacture of sugar, to 
suit the peculiar condition of the same variety of 
cane they are cultivating; even upon the island of 
Cuba, planters cannot manage the details of their 
operations alike and expect to be equally successfuL 
As the system of manuring, the kind of soil, and the 
depth and character of the sub-soil, in particular, 
besides certain conditions of the climate are known 
to exert a powerful influence on the quality, and thus 
on the fitness of the sugar beet for the manufacture 
of sugar, and as all these controlling influences vary 
more or less in different countries, it is quite plain 
that a series of well-designed and carefully-conducted 
experiments are desirable for the purpose of studying 
the behavior of a good imported sugar-beet seed 
upon our soil and under our climate ; they are indis- 

* In Germany the beet root is taxed— in France the beet sugar pro- 
duced ; which is a sufficient reason to account for the superiority of 
German machinery and skill. 

t See Notes on the Manufacture of Sugar in the Island of Cuba, by 
Charles A. Goessmann, Syracuse, N. Y.,"i865. 

X On Sorghum or Chinese Sugar Cane, by C. A. Goessmann, see 
Transactions of Uie N Y. State Agricultural Society, i860. 



[5 

pensable as a reliable basis for the introduction of the 
beet sugar manufacture as a home industry. 

Animated by these considerations and somewhat 
encouraged by the results of the preceding year, my 
examinations in the field and in the laboratory have 
been continued and enlarged upon during the past 
season. The results, which have been gratifying in 
both directions, will be described within the following 
pages. In view of the numerous questions which 
presented themselves as worthy of particular atten- 
tion, a selection had to be made ; I confined myself 
for obvious reasons to tbe following points: 

First^ to produce good sugar-beets in a suflScient 
quantity and in accordance with the rules laid down 
in my report for 1871 ; 

Secondly^ to study the chemical properties of the 
sugar-beet raised upon the College Farm, with refer- 
ence to their fitness for beet sugar manufacture ; 

Thirdly^ to ascertain by actual tests the amount of 
sugar available for commercial purposes. 

I. — ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE SUGAR-BEET. 

The field selected for the cultivation of the sugar- 
beets consisted of four and seven-tenths (47') acres, 
which sloped gently towards the west ; the soil was 
a warm sandy loam, with the exception of the south- 
west corner, which, being wet, was subsequently 
planted w^ith various kinds of common Mangolds. 
Grass had been raised upon the land for several 
years, until the fall of 1869, when it was plowed and 
a good coating of coarse yard manure put upon it. 
In the spring of 1870 it was planted with corn, each 
hill receiving a handful of a phosphate manure, and 
yielded 70 (seventy) bushels of corn per acre that 
year. It was thus, in consequence of a suitable selec- 
tion of manure and a satisfactory preceding crop, 
in a desirable condition for the production of sugar- 
beets. During the spring of 1871, the land was 
three times plowed, harrowed and rolled to make its 
mechanical condition as favorable as possible. The 
field was subsequently divided into five equal parts, 
running from east to west, conforming with its slope. 
Each of these divisions received, a few days before 

1*' ' 



6 

seeding, five hundred pounds of various commercial 
phosphates, which were sown broad-cast. The vari- 
ous kinds of seeds, which were imported during the 
last two years, had been previously tested in regard 
to their fitness for germination, and they all produced, 
after soaking a little in water, healthy young plants, 
within from seven to ten days. The following 
Varieties and respective quantities were planted by 
means of Holbrook's seed-drill, the most suitable im- 
plement on hand : 

1*5 pounds of Vilniorin .of 1869 

yo " Imperial of 1869 

11-5 *' Imperial of 1870 

10-5 " Electoral of 1870 

1-3 " Vienna Globe of 1869 

I'o '' varieties of Mangolds of 1870 

The rows were two and one-half (2^) feet apart and 
passed from north to south through each of the fer- 
tilizers. The planting of the seed took place on the 
nth and 12th of May, and on the 22d of May, the 
rows were distinctly marked by the young crop. 
The entire field looked well, with the exception of 
first few rows on the east side, where some troubles 
with the " seed-drill " had left empty spaces. 

These spots were subsequently filled out with 
young plants from other parts of the field at the 
time when the surplus plants were taken out ; after 
thinning, the plants stood from six to eight inches 
apart. During the time from the first of June until 
the twenty-first of July, the young plants were hoed 
three times, to keep the root-tops covered, and the 
space between the rows cultivated as many times 
with a horse-hoe to destroy the weeds. The whole 
crop looked promising during the entire season, with 
the exception of the transplanted beets, which re- 
mained behind in spite of an additional manuring, 
and confirmed the statement made in my previous re- 
port, that the general experience of beet sugar culti- 
vators teaches, that it does not pay in most cases to 
transplant ; for these plants remain usually so far be- 
hind, that they are of no value for sugar manufacture. 
Towards the end of September the outer leaves began 



to dry up, indicating under normal circumstances the 
ripeness of the roots. 

My examinations concerning the saccharine proper- 
ties of the various kinds of beet-roots began at this 
time. The harvesting of the entire root-crop took 
phice on the 1 9th and 20th of October. 

The danger of a serious frost rendered it advisable 
to protect the roots against its damaging influence ; 
for this reason part of them were buried without delay 
after being carefully freed from the leaves, care being 
taken not to injure them. The pits were six by three 
feet wide and three feet deep, and were located upon 
the elevated side of the beetfield. The leaves had 
already somewhat suffered from the frost and were 
mostly dried up. The larger portion of them were 
on that account left upon the field to serve as man- 
ure. A small quantity of leaves, still green, were, 
however, collected and buried in a pit of twelve 
feet long, three feet wide, and three deep, to 
be kept until spring for experimental purposes. The 
root crop averaged per acre twenty-two thousand 
two hundred (22,200) pounds. This amount exceeds 
the produce in Silesia, and ranks with the usual re- 
sults in Saxony. The results obtained upon the ex- 
perimental field of the College farm may be looked 
npon as gratifying and encouraging, particularly, 
when we remember the reduction caused in the crop 
by the defective operation of the seed-drill and also 
keep in mind, that the entire operation of' planting, 
etc., had to be managed with unsuitable implements. 
The rows of beets instead of being twenty inches 
apart with eight inches space between the plants, 
which would have secured from 28,500 to 30,000 
plants, had to be kept two and one-half feet apart 
to allow the horse, and the cultivator on hand, to 
pass between the rows, causingk a great waste of 
land. There are implements long used in the 
sugar-beet cultivation which locate the rows from 18 
to 20 inches apart, and which are used both in seed- 
ing and in cultivating from four to eight rows at once. 
In yiew of this first actual yield, I believe that 
with suitable implements the annual produce of 
^uga^;beet gopts per i^crg would rank ^yitb the highest 



8 

yield in Saxony, which is stated to be from thirty to 
thirty-two thousand (32,000) pounds of roots per acre. 
In my original plan for the fertilization of the beet 
field, I designed to apply from 250 to 300 pounds of 
Stassfurt potash fertilizers per acre. The scarcity of 
these valuable potash compounds in our markets, 
when wanted, prevented their arrival at a sufficiently 
early date. Although a small strip ten feet wide in 
each of the five main divisions of the field received 
finally some commercial Kainit at the rate previously 
mentioned; no particular importance will be attached 
to that fact. The sugar-beet is manifestly a potash 
plant, and the application of potash fertilizers but 
rational. Their good effect cannot be doubted, 
wherever the soil has been shown to be really deficient 
in available potash Compounds and where time and 
the peculiar physical condition of the various layers 
of the soil have favored their penetration to the 
strata upon which the plant under cultivation mainly 
feeds. Oversight in regard to these important points 
may be considered as the cause of existing contradic- 
tory statements. To apply the Stassfurt fertilizers to 
meadow grasses or even to potatoes as a surface 
dressing or shortly before their planting may give 
satisfaction in most cases ; for these plants live, com- 
paratively speaking, largely upon the surface soil and 
their roots branch in every direction in search of 
food. The sugar-beet, on the other hand, sends by 
natural disposition, its main roots to the sub-soil ; the 
quality of which is, therefore, of great importance. 
The potash must descend to the sub-soil, as exact in- 
vestigations of a more recent date demonstrate, before 
its beneficial effect* will be noticed on plants like the 
sugar-beet. This circumstance explains, to some ex- 
tent at least, the peculiar fact that potatoes and 
sugar-beets, although preeminently potash plants, have 
been raised upon the same land for years in succession 
with very satisfactory results,! and without showing 

* 150 pounds each of Kninit and of Superphosphate per acre are 
highly recommended. 

t Potatoes were raised on a large scale to serve as an admixture to 
thebeet molasses for alcohol manufacture, in order to render the re- 
fuse from the slill of more value for feeding purposes. 



the usual sign of exhaustion which such a practice in 
most instances would soon produce. In connection 
with the investigation of the previous question, an 
interesting fact has been noticed, which deserves at- 
tention, particularly as it may lead to misconstruc- 
tions. 

It was demonstrated by careful experiment (Frank) 
that a small percentage of the chloride of sodium 
aids in the circulation of the potassa compounds in 
the soil, acting in that respect similar to the nitrate of 
soda, and apparently counteracting the ordinary re- 
tentitiveness of the soil and favoring the passage of 
the potassa to the sub-soil. The chloride of potas- 
sium and the sulphate of potassa are alike readily 
decomposed in a good soil. The potassa is always 
very eagerly retained in the surface portion of a soil 
of good physical condition, and passes only gradual- 
ly to lower depths, provided the soil has not received 
an unusually large supply, and is not too inferior in 
retentive quality. It takes months usually before its 
surplus will reach the lower strata, and the rate of 
its downward motion depends entirely on the chemi- 
cal and physical condition of the soil. Chlorine and 
the mineral acids, with the exception of phos- 
phoric acid, differ essentially in that respect and pass 
on more rapidly to the drainage waters. 

The demand for chlorine is limited ; not more than 
o-o8 per cent, of the amount introduced by the appli- 
cation of chloride of potassium being absorbed by 
sugar-beet roots. The absence and the presence of 
chloride in the mineral fertilizers affects the root crop 
but slightly, provided a sufficient amount of potash 
is supplied, and the chloride of sodium not used in 
excessive quantity. "Wherever potash is wanting and 
at the same time common salt is largely supplied as 
a fertilizing agent, it is but natural that the sugar- 
beet should manifest a tendency to return to its more 
primitive form, the common fodder beet. The recom- 
mendation of the direct application of the Stassfurt 
salines for fertilizing purposes in the case of the 
sugar-beet will appear, to many readers of my report 
"On Beet Sugar Cultivation" for 1871, of rather 
doubtful merit, and apparently somewhat in contra- 



10 



diction with previous statements. They will remem 
ber in all probability the objection raised against the 
selection of lands, which, from natural causes, con- 
tain a large accumulation of the various saline con- 
stituents of plant resulting from the decay of succes- 
sive generations of vegetation, as wood-lands and 
prairie-lands but recently put under cultivation. 
These lands are not fit in their original state, it is true, 
for the cultivation of a good sugar-beet, because their 
mineral elements find more than their equivalent of 
suitable organic, and particularly of nitrogenous 
plant food, which favors a luxuriant growth alto- 
gether different from what the beet sugar manu- 
facturer desires. Large quantities of nitrogenous and 
non-nitrogenous compounds, peculiar to this species 
of the plant, enter it and carry their corresponding 
quantity of mineral constituents with them, which, of 
course, will also be present in an extraordinary 
amount. These very same lands, if of a more sandy 
than clayey nature with a permeable, sub-soil may 
prove in consequence of repeated cropping sooner or 
later a most excellent soil for the cultivation of the 
sugar-beet. It is after all a good physical condition 
of the soil, which in the hands of an intelligent farmer 
will most surely in the course of time turn the scale 
of profit in his favor. Silesia, where the beet sugar 
husbandry of Europe originated, falls in- spite of equal 
skill and perseverance considerably behind other dis- 
tricts in its average-yield of roots per acre in con- 
sequence of a less favorable soil. Neither much ex- 
hausted lands nor such as above described offer 
encouraging prospects for a first trial of the beet 
sugar industry. No sugar-beet can be raised without 
potash or without phosphoric acid, and the same may 
be said about some of the other constituents, though 
we rarely call attention to this fact; because the 
natural supply is usually sufficient. Soda in case of 
a deficiency of potassa will serve to a limited extend, 
as a substitute ; sulphuric acid may replace in the 
same way phosphoric acid and magnesia the lime ; 
but neither of the various constituents alone stand in 
any fixed relation to the per cent, of sugar, except the 
potash or rather the sum of alkalies. (Stohmann). 



11 



II. ON THE QUALITY OP THE SUGAR-BEETS RAISED. 

A good sugar-beet has the following properties ; its 
leaves are numerous, of medium size, not upright, but 
rather rounded and drooping and of uniform, light 
green color ; its root is of moderate size, not exceed- 
ing two and one half pounds ; the skin of the root is 
smooth and white, and its meat, hard, white, and of 
sweet taste. The form of the root is pear, or 
wedge shaped, very gradually terminating in a long 
thin tap root without any side branches ; its specific 
gravity is always less than that of its juice. The spe- 
cific gravity of a good sugar-beet varies, in the ma- 
jority of cases, between I'oio and i*o6o; though 
instances are on record where it was found to be as 
high as I '070, Roots between one and two pounds in 
weight contain usually a juice of less density and also 
frequently of less value, than those of one half a 
pound or even less weight, and similar conditions 
have been noticed in regard to their relative propor- 
tions of sugar and their other remaining soluble con- 
stituents. Roots of a higher specific gravity contain 
usually less of these latter constituents in their juice, 
and their quantity varies within quite narrow limits, 
from 2.0 to 2.7 per cent. ; whilst the juice of roots of 
a lower specific gravity, usually contains not only more 
impurities, but what is of particular importance, be- 
cause of a more general occurrence, these foreign 
soluble substances are present in much larger quant- 
ities, namely, from 27 to 5*0 per cent, and more. The 
following two facts w^ill be apparent from the previous 
statements ; namely, that no strictly reliable deduction 
can be drawn from the specific gravity of the sugar- 
beet root in regard to the value of its juice ; nor from 
the specific gravity of the juice to that of its per cent, 
of sugar, beyond the general assumption that in most 
cases the larger roots (from 2 to 3 lbs.) of the same 
quality of sugar-beets are inferior to the smaller spe- 
cimens. Individual roots of the same variety raised 
upon the same piece of land and under the same treat- 
ment, even when of the same size are known to ditfcr 
in regard to their composition as far as their sac- 
charine quality is concerned. (Stammer). The quality 



12 



of a sugar-beet crop, therefore, can only be safely de- 
cided by testing a large number of roots of various 
sizes from different portions of the field and accepting 
the mean of a series of such examinations as the most 
probable actual condition of the entire crop. All tests 
have to be made without any unnecessary delay ; for 
beet roots, like other roots, lose moisture on exposure 
to the air, and suffer thereby more or less serious 
alteration, which, if not taken into consideration, must 
result in mistakes. The increased density of the juice 
will be followed by a correspondingly smaller yield. 
The loss noticed during an ordinary state of the at- 
mosphere, amounted, at a temperature of from 15° 
to 18° C, to 2-6 per cent, within thirty hours, and to 
1 3" I per. cent, within eight days; whilst at a temper- 
ature of 30° to 40° C, it reached 23 to 25 per cent, and 
the internal changes as far as the crystallizable sugar 
is concerned are in the latter case still more serious. 
A sound, fresh, full grown sugar-beet root is free from 
grape sugar and from ammonia, yet both compounds 
will be noticed sooner or later in a beet root after its 
removal from the soil, and subsequent exposure to a 
temperature which favors fermentation. The practical 
sugar-beet cultivator recognises this feet by placing 
the roots, after their removal from the soil and their 
separation from the leaves, without much delay in 
pits. A lacerated beet decays rapidly. The beet 
roots raised upon the College farm, on the whole, 
showed the characteristics of good specimens, having 
in the majority of cases a smooth white skin and a 
white, hard, and sweet meat. They were remarkably 
compact ; their form was good and branch roots of 
not ±i-equent occurrence. The main bulk of these did 
not exceed one pound and a quarter (i^) in 
weight; specimens from two to three pounds in 
weight were rather scarce. The outer leaves turned 
yellow towards the middle of September, indicating 
the ripeness of the roots. My laboratory tests for 
determining their per centage of sugar began on the 
loth of September. 

I. Di termination of the amount oficatcr in the rootfi. 

13-818 grammes of carefully cut thin slices of the 
Imperial sugar-beet were loosely packed between 9, 



13 

giTen weight of dried blotting paper and kept in an 
air-bath at a temperature from ioo° to 105° C. nntil a 
constant weight was obtained ; the loss amounted to 
11-328 grammes or 81-98 per cent, of water; again 
9-191 grammes of the same beet root were dried under 
corresponding conditions; the loss amounted to 7*502 
grammes or 8174 per cent. 

Imperial Sugar-beet root. 

I. 11. 

Non volatile matter 18-02 18-26 

Water 81-98 81-74 

A good sugar-beet contains usually from 81 to 82 
per cent, of water, yet it may vary from 79 to 86*63 
per cent, of water and from 13*37 t6 2i*o per cent, of 
dry substance. 

2. Tests of the juice. 

The juice of the roots, of the tops, and of the main 
parts of the leaves differ widely ; an analytical state- 
ment concerning these points* will be found quite 
instructive here; — 

M. Mehay. Juice of Root. Of Leaf Stalk. Of Leaf. 

Sugar, crystallizable 12-00 0-25 o-oo 

Sugar, non crystallizable 0-50 2-72 1-23 
Oxalic acid 0.22 0.43 i-86 

Specific gravity i-o6o 1.023 1-025 

The sugar was determined by means of fermentation 
after Dubrunfaut's method. 

Juice of the sugar- Juice of 

Heidopriem, i86g. beet root without tops. the tops. 

Specific gravity 1.0648 1*0572 

Sugar 13.6800 io*2ioo 

Soluble substances without sugar 20200 3*3900 

Organic substances without sugar 1-4600 2*4600 

Ashes — less carbonic acid 0*5600 7-200 

Protein substances 0-887 1-7500 

Sugar-Beet Juice 
F. Siohmann, 1869. Minimum. Maxlinuui. 

Sugar 9*56 17-680 

Soluble substances without sugar 0*38 3'5io 

Potassa 0-09 '^"^SS 

* Mehay : Compt. rend. t. LXIX. p. 754. Ilcidepriem : Zeitschrift 
XIX. S. 75. Stohmann : Zeitschrift XIX. S. Z7j ; see K. Stammei-'s 
Jahrcsbcricht, 1S69. 



14: 



The amount of other soluble substances for each i<x> 
parts of sugar in the beet juice varies from 800 to 
18.50 parts. 

The specific gravity of the beet juice is usually as- 
certained by Brix's saccharometer, an instrument 
which refers to percentages of pure sugar in distilled 
water. As the beet juice contains besides sugar a 
variety of organic and inorganic compounds, its in- 
dications are of interest only for comjiarative tests. The 
exact amount of dry substance in the juice has to be 
decided by a careful evaporation to dryness. 

The percentage of sugar in the juice from the same 
beets may difler somewhat in consequence of different 
ways of obtaining it. The juice obtained by a centri- 
fugal apparatus and that abstracted by hand were 
noticed to differ about 07 per cent., the latter being 
the richer juice; whilst that obtained by a powerful 
press may even exceed this by from 01 to o-66 per cent. 
These few general remarks may serve to place some of 
my,'subsequent analytical statements in their proper 
right. 

3. Determination of tlie sugar in the juice. 

]\Iost of the sugar tests were made by means of an 
excellent Dubosq-Soleil's optical saccharometer. In 
some instances the results thus obtained have been 
verified after converting the entire amount of the cane 
sugar present into grape-sugar ; in other cases, parti- 
cularly where the Dubosq's apparatus gave high re- 
sults, I verified the optical test by a chemical one by 
the use of Fehling's well-known solution. The juice 
for my experiments was produced, where not other- 
wise directly stated, in the following way ; a number 
of sugar-beet roots of various weights, which were 
collected from the five divisions of the beet-field, were 
freed from the tops as far as the leaf marks extended. 
The roots were subsequently ground by hand upon a 
common tin gi'ater and the pulp resulting pressed hy 
hand in a strong cloth. In a few instances, when a 
larger number of roots were to be pressed for juice, 
they were cut by an ordinary root-cutter and pressed 
in a common iron screw press. The juice after being 
obtained in cither of these ways was either allowed to 



15 

settle, or strained through a cloth and then tested in 
regard to its specific gravity by means of a Brix's sac- 
charometer. The preparation of the juice for the test 
with the polariscope was carried out in the following 
way : 500 c.c. of the juice were filled into a graduated 
glass-cylinder, and subsequently thoroughly mixed 
with 50 c.c, of a solution of sub-acetate of lead of the 
usual concentration.* As soon as a light colorless so- 
lution began to separate from the bulky precipitate, 
the whole mass was put upon two filters of coarse 
paper and quickly filtered. The juice thereby ob- 
tained was again without delay filtered through 1 50 
c.c. of medium sized coarse bone-black. The first 
ICO c.c. of the filtrate were set aside and the subse- 
quent filtrate turned to account for the optical test in 
the usual manner, 

I removed 100 c, c, of the filtrate, its first portion, 
for the purpose of rendering the solution for the tests 
independent of the incidental influence of bone-black, 
(its moisture, etc) This mode of proceeding was 
adopted to allow a direct comparison of my results 
with numerous other investigations of a similar charac- 
ter, and for similar ends. The polariscope was in each 
case adjusted with a carefully prepared standard 
solutionf of pure sugar and. also with water ; the 
number of degrees required to produce the optical 
eifect of presenting but one color, were increased by 
one-tenth of their number to compensate for the dilu- 
tion of the original genuine beet-juice by the lead 
solution used for its defecation ; each degree represen- 
ted 0-1635 P^r cent, of sugar. The results of my tests 
will be given in a chronological order; they refer 
mainly to sugar-beets and other beet-roots raised 
upon the College-farm ; an appendix contains also a 
few tests concerning sugar-beets, etc. raised elsewhere 
in the state, 

* Digest I part of acetate of lead, i part of o.vide of lead, and 20 parts 
of water at jo" to 40° C, from 6 to 10 hours, and filter, 

t looo c.c. water containing i6j-5o grammes of pure sugar in solu- 
tion, Miien filled into a tube of 200 m. m. length produces the 
game rotation as a quartz plate of one m. m. in thickness; 
loo c.c. of water, containing i6"}5 p. e. of pure sugar in solution, ob- 
served in a tube of 200 m.m. length indicates the percentage by means 
of decrees. 



16 



Sugar-leets from the College-Farm. 

Sept. lo, 1871. Electoral sugar-beet (Magdeburg), seed imported 1870, 

Weight of Eoots with top. Weight of Leaves. 

pound I ounce i pound 7 ounces 

" I " II " 

" I " 13 

" 05 " 15 " 

" 4 '' 14 " 

5 " 7.5 " 4 " 12 " 

Juice; Brix 14° at 17° C. sugar 12*30 per cent. 

Sept. 12. Imperial sugar-boets ; seed imjiorted 1870. 

Roots with top. Leaves, 

pound 14 ounces i pound 

" 4 " 13 ounces 

a JO u ,^ a 

U ,^ U J, u 

" 12 " 10-5 " 

8 " 5 " 3 " 15-5 " 

Juice; 15° Brix at j8° C. Per cent, of sugar I2-59. 

Sept. I J. French Vllmorin "beet \ German seed imported 1870. 
Eoots with top. Leaves. 



I pound 


9 ounces 


I pound 


3 ounces 


a " 


4 " 


1 " 


I " 


I " 


5 " 




12-5 " 


I " 


5 " 




12 " 


I " 


II " 


I " 


8 " 



7 " 2 " 5 " 4-5 " 

Juice; i4'5'' Brix at 18*5° C. per centage of sugar 12*95 

Oct. nth. Imperial beets; seed imported 1870; 
250 lbs. of these roots, without tops, were cut by a 
common root cutter and pressed with an iron screw 
press; the roots were moist from washing before 
cutting. 

Juice; 15° Brix at 22*5° C. Sugar 12*05 per cent. 

Oct. 1 6th. Electoral sugar-beets; seed imported 
1 87 1 ; 490 pounds of roots without tops cut by root 
cutter and pressed by an iron screw press. 

Juice ; 15° Brix at 18° C. Sugar 12*22 per cent. 



17 

Oct. 1 8th. Vilmoriii sugar-beets; seed imported 
1870; 600 pounds of roots without tops cut by root 
cutter and pressed by an iron screw press. 

Juice; 16° Brix at 16^ C. Sugar 13-129 per cent. 

Nov. 14. Imperial beets, taken from the pit. 

Hoots with tops. . Leaves. 

I pound 8 ounces. No leaves. 

13-5 " 
I " 4-5 " 

13- " 

10-5 " 
,3. 

5 '' 14-5 '' 
Juice (by hand press) 15° Brix at 18° C. ; 1-064— 1-065 
spec, gravity; Sugar 11 -60 per cent. 

Nov. 21. Vihnorin beets; from the pit; one root 
with top, one pound 12 ounces; juice, 15-5° Brix at 
14° C. ; Sugar 13-12 per cent. 

Fodder-beets raised upon the CoUege-Farm. 

Sept. igtb. Vienna red-yellow and white slobe-beet, 
Koots with top. Leaves. 

2 pounds 2 ounces, 
1 *' 8 " 

3 '' I 

6 *' II ** 2 pounds. 

Juice; Brix n° at 18-5 0; Sugar 8-004 per o, 

Sept. 19th. Ordinary Mam/olds (red and yellow), ;, 
seeds sent from the National Agric. Department. 

Eoots with tops. Leaves. 

I pound i ounce , 5 ounces. 

I " I <« 2 " 

I *' 12 " 12 " 



12 ounces. 


10 


a 


10 


a 



3 " 13^ " I pound 3 " 

Juice; Brix 9° at 19 C. ; Sugar 5-o3<; per cent. 

2* 



18 

Sugar-leets sent from other parts of the State ; the seeds 

-mere furnished hy Pres. Glarlc from those used on the 

College farm. 

Kov. 7th. Hon. S. Williston ; East Hampton, Mass. 

Roots with tops ; somewhat withered when tested. 
I pound 65 ounces, 
a " 11-25 " 
a " 14- " 

6 " 1575 
Juice; i2"39 per cent, sugar. 
Nov. loth. Dr. N. Durfee, of Fall Kiver, Mass. 

Eoots with tops. 
a pounds ^ ounce. 

1 " 9 " 
a "5 " 

2 " II 



8 " 9-5 " 
Juice Brix 15-5° at 16^ C. ; Sugar 10*45 P^r cent. 

Nov. 22d. Wm. Knowlton, Esq., of Upton, Mass. 

Koots with tops (somewhat withered.) 
I pound 10 ounces. 

I u 4 u 

I "II " 

I " 10 " 

1 " IZ " 

2 "3 

I " 4 " 

I I pounds 6 ounces. 

Juice; Brix 15° at 13° C; lo-oyper cent, of sugar. 

A large specimen of " The American Improved Im- 
perial Sugar-Beet " of Hon. Henry Lane of Cornwall, 
Vermont, recommended for stock feeding^ and raised at 
Williamstown, Mass., was tested at the request of 
Hon. P. A Chadbourne ; the beet root had been on ex- 
hibition at the fair of the Hampshire Agricultural 
Society at Amherst, Sept. 27th, 1871, and was conse- 
quently in a somewhat dried up state ; it was spongy, 
partly hollow, and weighed between 7 and 8 pounds ; 
^uice, Brix 11-15° at 14° C. ; sugar 667 per cent. 



19 



For the purpose of verifying the results nf fho 
ophc,» analysis, I selected one of the best beetroots 

acldecl then an excess of sulphuric acid and dio-ested 

6o» to t"'c'To""™' '-"-at a temperas from 
oo to bo C. to convert the cane suffar into o-rmiP 

S';nfdr':?lr^ subsequently wifh carb'ona ^^f 
soda and diluted the whole to 500 c.c. In two succcs- 
sive tests I not ced, that four c.c. of that soMon s5- 

res'dts '^ov? Zfl ''' ^^^^^^-^'^ -lution. Th'se 
results prove, that 500 c.c. contain 12.5 grammes of 

grape sugar, for 10. c.c. of Fehling's solution ar^eQual 

of 7a: ^suS'Mr p^. ^"^'^^' '' °-4" gr'aZ: 

more for thP^rin r^'^^ *? ''"^ g^^^^mes o^ie-tenth 
we find hat tip ""-^-^ subacetate of lead solution, 
wc una that the original beet iuice vielded t-tt 
per cent, of grape sugSr, or rather 13 09 per cent 'of 

su'aVTm H? r'Z '" ""''''}! '''' Jui'eSntain i^s 
sugar, bimi ar results were obtained with the nolor 
iscope after the inversion of the cane sugar by ineans' 
of concentrated hydrochloric acid. ^ 

4. Determination of the solid residue of tJie juice 
I selected for this purpose a variety of sugar beet 

o?suLrhaT.t:^ T-^^J"^' "^^^ ^'«- P-'-tag^ 
01 suga^ had shown a high specific gravity of iuice 

Twodifi-erent samples, each 100 grammes of an Im 

SillXdrt ^""-^ ^^^--.^4, were'^^apo^rat^d 
caretuly to dryness m an air bath, and the residue 
finally kept at from 100° to 105° C. until no furthe? 

T-06 'to I c'^fo"''"^^' . ^''! ^^"^ ^--'^^"^ varied from 
15 06 to 15-10 per cent. As the sugar found in that 

Je"l?,?^"^^*f '% '^'6° V^'^^^t. we'learned that its 
entire amount of organic and inorganic nonvolatile 
substances after the deduction of the sugar was equa^ 

sttirth^eTe^oTe'of^'^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^-'- 
wifer"""""' \l\ P"' '""*• ^^^taining ,r6o p- c. of sugar. 



100' 



20 

These results from Brix's saccharometer and of 
the sugar tests, together, are usually turned to account 
to give some idea about the percentage of foreign 
matters in a beet juice, for instance in the case of the 
preceding examination we notice 15° Brix as the spe- 
cific gravity, the actual evaporation proves that each 
degree in that case corresponds quite closely with one 
per cent, of matter in solution.* 

This assumption is not strictly exact, yet it gives 
for ordinary practice quite valuable indications. Sub- 
jecting then all previous investigations of beet juice to 
this mode of representing their value in a general 
way, we obtain the following figures : — 

Non sugar, 
Brix's Sugar (including all 

Beet juice Saccharo- per substances in 

of meter. cent, solution ex- 

cept sugar.) 

(1870) Sept. lotli Electoral 14° 12-30 175 

*' 1 2th Imperial 15° i2.-5g 2-41 

" 13th Vilmorin 14-5° i2,-95 1-55 

(1871) " i8th Imperial 14° 1079 3-21 
Oct. nth Imperial 15° 12-05 2*95 

" 16th Electoral 15'' 12.22 278 
" i8th Vilmorin 16° 13-13 2-87 
(1871) Nov. 14th Imperial 15" ii-6o 3-34 
" 2ist Yilmorin I5'5° i3"ia ^'38 
We notice, that the Imperial beets from seeds impor- 
ted in 1 87 1 differ considerably from the rest and are 
quite inferior to them ; whilst the latter average very 
well, 12*63 of sugar to 2*38 non sugar or 100 parts of 
sugar to 1 8-8 non sugar, the inferior imperial stands on 
the average as 11 "19 per cent, of sugar to 3*275 non 
sugar, or 100 parts of sugar to 29*2 parts of the others 
(non sugar). 

The fodder beets differ still more as will be seen by 
the following statement : — 

Bris. Sugar. Non Sugar. 

Sept. 1 9th Vienna Globe 11° 8*00 3-0 

Common Mangold 9° 5*00 3-97 

or 

(Vienna) 100 parts of sugar to 37-50 of other soluble substances. 

and 

(Mangold) loo parts of Sugar to 79-50 of other soluble substances. 

* The Saccharometer used in my tests had for its smallest division 
one-half degree instead of one-tenth as would be desirable. 



21 



5- Determination of the nitrogenous constituents of the 
deet juice. 

loo grammes of the juice of an imperial beet (Nov. 
14th), containing the largest proportion of foreign ad- 
mixture in its juice, were used for this test, its solid 
dry residue amounted to 15*10 grammes. The analysis 
for the percentage of nitrogen was carried on in a 
Bohemian glass tube, and in the well-known manner 
with caustic soda and lime, taking particular care to 
apply a decided excess of that mixture to secure a 
thorough combustion of the highly carbonaceous mass. 
The ammonia resulting was collected by means of a 
moderately concentrated (it 2 spec, grav.) hydro- 
chloric acid in a Will-Varrentrapp apparatus and its 
amount determined in the form of platin-ammonium 
chloride. 

I. 2 -0660 grammes of dry pulverized residue of 
the beet juice produced 0-515 grammes of platin-am- 
monium chloride, which is equal to 3761 grammes of 
the entire dry substance of the beet juice; again, 

II. 1-912 grammes of the same residue produced 
0-470 grammes of platin-ammonium chloride, which 
is equal to 3-6880 grammes of the entire residue. As 
2232 parts of the platinum compound contain 17 
parts of ammonia or 14 parts of nitrogen, which is 
equal to 6*2724 per cent, of the latter, our results cor- 
respond to the following figures : 3-761 grammes of 
platin-ammonium chloride are equal to 0-23 59 per cent, 
of nitrogen, and 3.6881 grammes to 0.231 5 of nitrogen. 
In case we assume that the whole amount of nitrogen 
found is present in the form of nitrogenous or al- 
buminous substances, w^e may by multiplying the per- 
centage of nitrogen found, by 6*25, ascertain the 
amount of those compounds. The average of nitrogen 
found is 0-2337 X 625=: 1-460 of albuminous sub- 
stances. This assumption is, however, not exactly 
supported by facts, for the beet juice contains, besides 
the albuminous substances, two other nitrogenous 
compounds quite distinctly differing from the former. 



22 



namely, asparagin* and betain, organic bases for 
which due allowance of nitrogen has to be made, 
which very naturally reduces more or less the amount 
of albuminous substance previously calculated. The 
albuminous substances generally vary in a good sugar- 
beet juice from I "3 to 1*4 and the amount in the juice 
from beets raised upon the college farm cannot 
exceed that. It was deemed important to ascertain 
how much of these substances can be removed from 
the beet juice by means of an ordinary defecation or 
clarification in the coarse of the beet-sugar manufac- 
ture. In making these tests, it seemed necessary to 
treat the juice from two diflferent varieties of sugar 
beets, yet raised upon the same field and under identi- 
cal conditions. 

Two hundred grammes of the juice from the Elec- 
toral sugar beet (October i6th) were heated quickly 
yet carefully in a glass flask to 80° C, when two 
grammes of caustic magnesia (free from lime) were 
added with thorough stirring after the removal of 
the glass from the source of heat applied. The 
mixture was then heated again, without unnecessary 
delay, until the steam formed at the bottom began to 
force its way through the solid curdy scum upon the 
surface of the liquid. After having kept up the 
temperature to from 95° to 98° C, for about ten to 
fifteen minutes, the mixture was placed upon a 
weighed filter, and the solid residue left upon the 
filter after the filtration subsequently washed Avith 
200 c. c. of distilled water at ordinary temperature 
before drying. The residue, after desiccation in the 
air-bath at 100° C, weighed 4776 grammes, which is 
equal to 2-388 per cent. An analysis of 2-388 grammes 
with caustic soda and lime produced 0-6172 grammes 
of platin-ammonium chloride, which being equal to 
0-0387 per cent, of nitrogen, shows that but 02 346 

* Asparagin was discovered in beet juice as early as 1850 by 
Dubrunfaut. Betain. a new organic base, was first noticed by Scheibler 
in 1869. lie found that the juice of beet roots, during the month of 
July, contained one-fourth per cent., while, in the month of October, 
but one-tenth per cent, was present. Scheibler has since proved the 
identity of the oxynenrin of ijiebreich and anhydrous betain, which 
can therefore be made directly by treating trimethylamin with mono- 
chloracetic acid. Betain has the formula C^H^^NO^. 



28 



per cent, of albuminous substances have been precipi- 
tated by heat and caustic magnesia.* 

Two hundred grammes from the juice of the 
Vihnorin beet (October i8th) wt-re treated with two 
grammes of caustic lime in the same way as in the 
preceding test with caustic magnesia. The caustic 
lime being to a much larger degree soluble in a solu- 
tion of sugar than the magnesia, only 3 '849 grammes 
of dry precipitate were obtained. 1-9250 grammes of 
that residue produced 0-5060 grammes of platin- 
ammonium chloride, wiiich is equal to 0-1923 per 
cent, of albuminous substances. Comparing the 
results of these tests, we notice that in the case of 
caustic magnesia nearly one-fifth more of nitrogenous 
substances was rendered insoluble than in the case of 
caustic lime, while in both cases but a small fraction 
(one-fifth to one-sixth) of these compounds is rendered 
insoluble. 

6. Determination of the Ash Constituents of the Beet 

Juice. 

The beet juice produced by the press contains 
more saline compounds than the press-cakes left 
behind, while the ashes of the latter contain more 
carbonic acid than those of the former. In both 
cases, the carbonic acid originated from the destruc- 
tion of organic substances. How much the mode of 
abstracting the juice from the sugar beets aflects the 
quantity and quality of the saline constituents of the 
beet juice, I have already sufficiently pointed out and 
illustrated by analytical statements in my previous 
report. The various kinds of fertilizers applied arc 
also known, as stated before, to afi'ect the relative 
proportion of the various saline constituents of the 
press juice to some limited extent, and in a manner 
previously explained, yet the total amount absorbed, 
even in the case of the Stassfurt salines, varies but 
little, provided the soil is not overcharged with 
organic and particularly with nitrogenous organic 
plant-food. A good sugar beet contains always at 

* See Contribution on the Manufact re and llefining of Susrar, by C. 
A. Goessmann, Syracuse, 1864; also, Chemical News, fcy W. Crookes, 
Loudon, 1864. 



24 



least three times as much potash as soda, and often 
even a larger proportion, but excessive applications 
of common salt as a manure are known to increase 
the relative amount of soda. The following inorganic 
constituents are usually found in the juice of the 
sugar beet, viz. : potassa, soda, lime, magnesia, iron, 
phosphoric, sulphuric and silicic acids and chlorine. 
Of these, the alkalies are of main importance so far 
as the sugar question is concerned, for they exert a 
specific influence on the results of our ordinary modes 
of manufacture. Their great solubility, and their 
peculiar indifference towards the absorbing property 
of boneblack carry them largely as an obnoxious 
feature through all the operations down to the mo- 
lasses. Only the determination of the potassa and 
soda is for this reason a quantitative one, whilst the 
remaining saline compounds are stated collectively as 
percentages of the ash constituents. 

Five hundred grammes of Vilmorin (October 1 8th) 
beet juice were carefully evaporated and gradually 
charred, until no vapors arose, and the compact, hard, 
carbonaceous mass was subsequently kept at a low 
red heat until it formed a very friable mass. The 
latter, after cooling, was finally ground, and for some 
time digested at ordinary temperature with distilled 
water to prevent as much as possible a mutual de- 
composition of the ash constituents. After the mass 
had been digested for some time, it was placed upon 
a suitable filter, and subsequently washed with cold 
water, making the entire amount of the solution 
about 500 c. c. This solution, after its evaporation 
to dryness, and a re-solution, etc., left 0-928 grammes 
of alkaline compounds or 0*185 P^^ cent. A direct 
examination proved that it contained 0-0762 per cent, 
of potassa and 0012 per cent, of soda. Against this 
mode of proceeding, I am aware it may be said that its 
results are not strictly exact, as traces of alkalies will 
DC left behind in the carbonaceous mass, but it ap- 
peared to me that the risk of a trifling loss was less 
serious than that caused by excessive heating to 
destroy the carbon. 

One hundred grammes of Imperial beet juice 
(November 20th) were carefully cTaporated and 



25 

charred. The carbonaceous mass was then mixed 
with concentrated sulphuric acid and heated in a 
platinum dish to oxidize the carbon. This operation 
was repeated until no carbon could be noticed, and 
the residue moistened again with sulphuric acid was 
brought to a dull red heat, and subsequently weighed. 
It amounted to 1*273 grammes or 1*237 per cent. 
Making the customary allowances for sulphuric acid 
(one-tenth of the weight of the saline residue) we 
find the entire ash constituents of the juice equal to 
I '145 per cent. The amount of salines in the beet 
juice is, of course, much larger on account of the 
presence of the organic acids than the ash percentage 
represents. 

I stated before that the amount, and particularly 
the kind of saline constituents in the beet juice is of 
great importance to the beet-sugar manufacture, for 
their amount even under favorable conditions is 
considerable, and they interfere more or less directly 
and indirectly with an advantageous separation of 
the sugar in well-developed crystals, and not unjfre- 
quently increase the amount of molasses at the expense 
of the sugar. The manufacturer feels thus obliged to 
direct his attention very carefully during the entire 
process of manufacture towards this point. He finds 
it for his interest to begin operations with a sugar- 
beet root having a small percentage of saline 
compounds, and supplies himself with water which 
contains but a small amount of mineral matter.* He 
removes the alkalies by washing from the caustic 
lime before using it for defecation, and strives also to 
remove every cause which might bring about such 
changes as will render the juice acid or induce the 
formation of acids, for they favor the introduction of 
otherwise insoluble compounds into the sugar solution, 
such as sulphate, phosphate and carbonate of lime, 
etc. Finally, he avoids the use of any organic or 
inorganic substances for the clarification of the sugar 

* stammer states that, in ease of the press mode beinj,' used, every 
ICO pounds of beet-roots require 62 pounds of water; in case the 
inaceration and diffusion modes are to be applied, from 180 to zoo 
f>ound3 of water are needed usually for every loc pounds £of beets, 
provided white sugar is to be made. 



26 

solutions which, in consequence of their own compo- 
sition, are liable to increase the amount of soluble 
salines present. The means by which these compounds 
may be removed are costly, and, in regard to the 
alkalies in particular, very inefficient. Although the 
frequently cited statement that i per cent, of ash 
constituents will render from 4*5 to 5 per cent, of a 
good sugar uncrystallizable is not true in its general 
application, yet sufficient is known to justify the 
assertion that their presence is highly objectionable. 
Some salines, as caustic potassa and soda, carbonate 
of potassa, acetate of potassa, and a few other combi- 
nations of the latter base with organic acids, are 
known to prevent directly more or less sugar from 
crystallizing, whilst the others, collecting in the 
molasses to a considerable proportion, increase its 
bulk and thus indirectly cause the retention of more 
or less sugar in a form of low value. Beet molasses 
contains about 45 to 50 per cent, of sugar and from 9 
to 10 per cent, of ash constituents, the latter repre- 
senting in all probability more than twice their 
weight of salines in the original solution, where the 
bases ai*e combined with several organic as well as 
mineral acids. 

III. — ON THE SEPARATION OF THE SUGAR. 

The juice of the sugar-beet for the manufacture of 
sugar is secured in various ways. The roots, after 
being freed from the leaves, are washed and their 
tops cut off as far as the leaf marks extend ; they are 
subsequently changed by means of suitable apparatus 
either into pulp, and in that state subjected to the 
action of a powerful press or centrifugal apparatus, or 
both operations successively ; or they are cut into 
suitable slices and macerated or subjected to a pro- 
cess of diffusion. Each mode of operation quite 
naturally affects to some extent the quantity, the 
kind, and the relative proportions of the constituents 
which accompany the sugar in the resulting juice. 
No one of these modes produces a solution directly 
fit for the separation of the sugar by its mere evapo- 
ration and subsequent crystallization. Any of these 
juices in their original state soon turn slimy, and 



27 

their sugar will soon become uncrystallizable, and 
thus be entirely lost to the manufacturer. All have, 
therefore, without delay to undergo a similar process 
of purification before an advantageous separation of 
the sugar can be expected. It may be of interest to 
state here somewhat more in detail the main organic 
and inorganic constituents of the beet-juice ; they 
are cane sugar, pectose, fat, gum, protein substances, 
asparagin, betain, oxalic acid, citric acid, and ex- 
tractive matter (a collective name for organic sub- 
stances but little known), besides potassa, soda, 
rubidium*, lime, magnesia, iron, manganese, phos- 
phoric acid, sulphuric acid, chlorine and silicic acid. 
As the various constituents of the beet-juice, obtained 
by pursuing any of the previously mentioned modes 
of separation, are either identical or at least of a 
similar character, and as they mainly differ in regard 
to their relative quantities, the same general mode of 
manufacture with but slight modifications is practised 
for the final separation of the sugar. 

Instead of inserting here a chapter treating on this 
point more in detail, I prefer to confine myself for the 
present to the task before me, and to describe the 
way by which I ascertained the amount of sugar, which 
could be considered available for commercial pur- 
poses. In the course adopted, I adhered as much as 
possible to the modes and the means which intel- 
ligent beet-sugar manufacturers apply, and modified 
my plan merely to suit the peculiar circumstances 
under which I was obliged to work. 

I took fifty pounds of Electoral beet juice (October 
1 8th), in a suitable copper kettle and heated it quickly 
but carefully to 80° C. to produce the coagulation of 
the albuminous substances. I then removed the vessel 
from the source of heat and stirred into the liquid ' 
one-half of one per cent, of caustic lime, which had 
been changed into milk of lime. The heat was then 

* Lefevere states that one hectare (2*5 acres), which produces on th g 
average 40,000 kilofframmes (88,000 lbs.) of sugar beets and furnishcg 
at the same time 128 kilogrammes (281-6 lbs.,) of crude potash, contaiiig 
for every kilogramme of the latter 175 grammes of Kubidium cMorid 
or 288 srammt's per hectare or gi'S grammes per acre {Compt. rendus 
T. LIV, page 430, 1862,) 



28 

applied again and the liquid rapidly raised to its 
boiling point, and as soon as the steam produced at 
the bottom of the vessel began to force its way through 
the compact mass of scum covering the surface, the 
heat was discontinued and the clear liquid was 
separated from the sCilm, after ten to fifteen minutes 
standing, by means of a siphon. The scum itself was 
subsequently placed upon a filter consisting of cloth 
and the filtrate passed through a thin layer of coarse 
boneblack to render the juice clear. The previous 
treatment of the juice of the sugar beet, which is 
called the process of defecation, aims at the following 
alteration of its constituents. The heating of the 
juice at 80° C. Causes the coagulation of the albumin- 
ous substances which protects them somewhat against 
the disintegrating reaction of the caustic lime, and 
particularly of the caustic potassa and soda, which 
result from the action of the caustic lime upon the 
organic and inorganic compounds of these alkalies in 
the beet juice. The excess of caustic lime renders, at 
a higher temperature, the oxalic acid, the citric acid, 
and the phosphoric acid largely insoluble, and causes 
thus their partial removal in common with gum, fat, 
pectose, and extractive substances in the form of a 
precipitate. The asparagin is changed into aspara- 
ginic acid and ammonia, which continually escapes, 
with that amount of the latter which results from the 
constant decomposition of a portion of nitrogenous 
substance which remained in solution. The organic 
base, betain, is liberated from its combination with 
one of the organic acids, and, being very soluble, 
accompanies the larger proportion of the compounds 
of the asparaginic acid and the alkalies through the 
various operations connected with the crystallization 
of the sugar into the molasses. The sugar forms a 
definite soluble combination with lime, and by its 
presence keeps also a large amount of otherwise 
insoluble lime compounds in solution.* There are 
various rules regarding the amount of caustic lime 
required to accomplish the desired result of an 

* A welldefecated juice contains about twice as much caustic limo 
in solution, as lime water does. 



2^ 

economical separation of the sugar from its accom- 
panying substances, but they all aim at an excess of 
caustic lime in the process of defecation. The excess 
favors the formation of insoluble basic lime compounds, 
the subsequent disintegration of soluble albuminous 
substances, and particularly it shortens the entire 
process of defecation, a result most desirable for the 
production of a copious precipitation, which would 
be more or less interfered with in case the liberated 
alkalies were permitted to continue their disintegrat- 
ing influence upon the scum for any length of time. 
A. successful defecation, considering everything else 
equally favorable, aids in an unusual degree the entire 
subsequent process. To remove the foreign substances 
from the beet juice rather by precipitation than by 
disintegration ought to be the aim of the beet-sugar 
manufacturer, yet those who claim superior results 
(Jelinske) it seems remove but fifty per cent, of 
soluble non-saccharine constituents of the juice. No 
other process connected with the beet-sugar manufac- 
ture has been more frequently discussed than that of 
defecating the juice, and there prevails a greater 
diversity of opinion among manufacturers on that 
point, with the exception probably of the most efli- 
cient and at the same time the most economical 
means of securing the juice from the roots, than on 
any other point connected with the business. 

The defecated juice, obtained as above described, 
was of a light yellow color, transparent and of a 
* strong alkaline reaction. To secure the full eflfect of 
the lime in solution, I concentrated the juice in an 
open copper vessel by means of a steam bath to 30° 
Brix, and treated it at 50° C. with carefully washed 
carbonic acid gas until the precipitate of carbonate 
of lime settled readily to the bottom.* The clear 
solution was heated to 95° to 100° C. and subsequent- 
ly passed through a boneblack filter, which was kept 
by means of steam at 95° C. I used one pound of 
boneblack for every pound of sugar in the juice. The 
solution thus obtained was carefully evaporated to 

* From o-o8 to 0-09 per. cent, of caustic lime is frequently left in 
solution to be removed by bone-black afterwards. From 10 to 20 lbs. 
01 bone-black are used for every 100 lbs. of beet roots. 



80 

crystallization and the sugar collected at three difter- 
ent times. It amounted to somewhat more than 
eight per cent, with separation still going on slowly. 
The operation was several times repeated with the 
juice of the Electoral, and of the best Imperial beet, 
and the sugar resulting was firm in grain and of 
good color. Experiments on a smaller scale yielded 
from a juice which contained 13*19 per cent, of sugar, 
9*4 per cent, in a crystallized form, which has been 
valued by experienced sugar refiners at from 8*5 to 9 
cents per pound for refining purposes. Being obliged 
to work without a vacuum pan, &c., and obtaining 
as stated eight per cent, of a good sugar w^orth at 
least eight cents per pound, I feel quite entitled to 
say that the sugar beets raised upon the college farm, 
particularly the Vilmorin and the Electoral, though 
not of the highest order, are well qualified for the 
economical manufacture of beet sugar. With proper 
care in selecting good seeds and a fit soil, it is quite 
apparent that the sugar beet promises with us as good 
results as in Europe. Our long and moderately warm 
fall season may even give us a decided advantage 
over many localities in Europe, a question which 
good native sugar beets are most likely soon to decide. 
Our method of planting the sugar beet did not 
promise more than 18,000 plants per acre, which 
according to our actual test produced roots equal to 
about one and one-fourth pounds each. In case the 
implements on hand would have allowed to carry out 
the proposed arrangement (the rows but twenty* 
inches apart and the individual plants eight inches 
from each other in the rows), from 28,000 to 28,500 
plants might have been raised, which at the same 
average weight of the roots would amount to 32,000 
or 34,000 pounds per acre. At this rate of production, 
it is quite safe to say that from 1,900 to 2,000 pounds 
of sugar would be its produce per acre. These 
figures, which are as will be conceded well supported 
by actual tests here and elsewhere, oblige me to alter 
the valuation of the produce per acre from that of 
my first report. For obvious reasons, I adopt here 
again rather the lowest rates than the higher ones, 
although the field on which the experiments were 



31 

made, was by no means equal in fertility to the 
alluvial soil of the Connecticut. 

Sugar, 1,900 pounds at eight cents per pound, $1 52*00 

Molasses for feeding purposes, . . . 3*66 

Press-cakes, $17*40, crowns, $4*00, . . 21-40 

Leaves, as manure or fodder, . . . I2'00 



$189-06 
To this amount should be added the profit on 
fodder converted into milk, beef and manure. 

Making allowance for exceptionally good results, 
which are in Germany, for instance, 2,270 pounds of 
sugar per acre, $2960 would have to be added to 
the above sum. Adding one cent to the value of 
each pound of sugar, which considering our present 
market prices seems to be warranted, would be 
$15*20 more, making the entire yield $22286 per 
acre. There are, also, incidental profits arising in the 
manufacture of sugar, which benefit particularly the 
agricultural interest, which were not enumerated in 
my former report. Two sources of additional profit 
deserve particular attention here. The process of 
defecation requires the application to the juice of 
from one to several per cent, of caustic lime. The 
scum resulting from this operation contains a large 
percentage of phosphoric acid, magnesia, nitrogenous 
and non-nitrogenous organic constituents of the beet 
juice, a considerable quantity of caustic and carbon- 
ate of lime, and these are in such a state that they 
may serve, after some composting, as an efficient 
fertilizer. In its original condition, it consists of 
about 60 per cent, of water, 22 per cent, of organic 
substances, and 18 per cent, of inorganic substances, 
and has been counted in this state equal to its own 
weight of stable manure. This mass is frequently 
pressed to save sugar, and varies of course somewhat 
in its composition. One acre of beet-roots causes the 
production of about 750 pounds of pressed scum of 
the following composition : 



82 



Caustic and carbonate of lime, 


254*80 pounds. 


Potassa and soda, 


3-00 " 


Magnesia, .... 


14-20 *'■ 


Phosphoric acid, . . . . 


14-20 " 


Sulphuric acid, 


•30 " 


Nitrogen, .... 


ii-8o " 


Organic substances, 


300-00 " 


Water, 


151-70 " 



75000 pounds. 
• The refuse matter (spodium), resulting from the 
clarification and decolorization of the sugar solution, 
is also worth mentioning in this connection, as an 
important source of an excellent material for the 
manufacture of super-phosphate. The peculiar bene- 
fits which the agricultural interests of a country- 
derive, directly or indirectly, from the introduction 
of the beet-sugar industry, under judicious manage- 
ment, have never been seriously questioned. I express 
but the prevailing opinion of European agriculturists, 
when I again assert, that wherever the promotion of 
rational principles in agricultural pursuits is a 
desirable object, or where a declining productiveness 
of the soil calls for eflBcient assistance, there it will be 
found of inestimable service to study the ways and 
means by which the true relation of the various farm 
crops to the sugar beet have been ascertained, and 
the beet-sugar manufacture rendered a lucrative 
agricultural and industrial business. 

The great interest which of late has been manifested 
throughout the entire country in regard to the 
introduction of the beet-sugar manufacture, is a 
sufficient proof that its importance begins to be 
realized. The question has reached in the minds of 
many already a state which leaves no further choice 
for arguments than the laboratory, the field and the 
factory. We have, in many respects, an easier task 
and less discouraging prospects, when contemplating 
the introduction of the beet- sugar manufacture, than 
those who began this enterprise years ago in Europe. 
They had first to find out how to raise a good sugar 
beet, and how to separate in an economical way the 
sugar, whilst we may, simply, for the present, follow 



33 

their teachings, ascertain the results upon our soil, 
and modify their methods to suit our circumstances. 
They were not less confronted by the same difficulties 
in their time, which are held up to us as great obsta- 
cles in the way of success, namely ; an uncertain 
degree of priPJiction for a struggling home industry 
and too expensive labor by hand to complete with 
the colonial sugar produce of the West and East 
Indies. Their times were indeed hard and their 
chances* frequently doubtful; yet in looking closer 
at their struggle, we cannot help noticing that the 
very circumstances which seemed at times to render 
success impossible, have contributed largely to a final 
good result. A firm belief in the advantages offered 
by a rational mode of cultivation and by skilled 
labor over mere empirical routine, carried them 
successfully to the end. How well they succeeded 
may be inferred from the following two facts : first, 
most of the sugar refineries which in former years 
were engaged in refining sugar from the sugar cane 
of the tropics, are now refining home-made beet- sugar ; 
secondly, the introduction of numerous mechanical 
contrivances has reduced expensive hand labor in 
the field and in the factory, to a condition which 
compares very favorably with the relative amounts of 
machine and hand labor employed in similar industrial 
■ operations. Nothing remains for us to do but to 
enter upon a close investigation of the merits of the 
question. A study of our resources with reference to 
the important changes which have taken place in 
the management of the beet-sugar industry within 
later years cannot but demonstrate that the prospects 
are promising. The chief argument used against the 
introduction of the beet-sugar manufacture as a home 
industry, rests to-day solely on the expensive field- 
work which is required to till and to manure the soil 
properly to cultivate the beet root according to the 



* From i8}6 to 1846 about 2000 pounds of beet roots were required 
to produce 100 lbs. of sugar (j jier cent.) ; from 1846 to 1856 about 1500 
lbs. of beet roots to produce 100 lbs. of sui^ur (6J per cent.) ; from 1856 
to 1868 about 1250 lbs. of beet roots for 100 lbs. of sugar (8 per cent.) 
The government tax is thirty times higher in Germany and France 
on the beet root than in 1840. 



84 

best rules, and to deliver them at the mill. Although 
duly recognizing the great weight of this point, for 
with the farmer rests the success of the enterprise in 
the end, I believe that its influence as an obstacle is 
frequently overrated and based on somf hat obsolete 
assumptions. The government tax of from $40 to $50 
per acre of sugar beets, in Germany and France, as 
well as our higher prices of sugar, will go far towards 
covering our more expensive labor,* The interests 
of the Louisiana sugar planters, and the sugar-beet 
cultivators of more northern sections of the country 
are the same, as far as a proper protection of their 
industry is concerned ; and the public opinion, in 
view of the requirements of the government, is appar- 
ently prepared to accord to them, for some time, at 
least, this advantage. Great improvements in agri- 
cultural implements, and in modes of securing the 
juice, have reduced labor by hand to a considerable 
extent. A short enumeration of the most conspicuous 
instances may place this statement in its proper light. 
Various seeding machines, improvements more or 
less on Garrett's famous seed-drill, are used in plant- 
ing the seed in four or more rows at once, and at any 
desired distances from twelve to twenty inches apart. 
According to the size of the machine, one or two 
men with one or two horses or oxen, may seed from 
eight to sixteen acres per day ; the same implement 
can also be modified, by replacing the seed boxes 
with suitable knives to be used as cultivators, to 
clean the space between the rows of plants and to 
cover the roots. Ploughs with two knives are used 
to break up the soil on both sides of the rows of 
beets, to loosen the latter in such a manner, without 
lacerating them, that children may do the harvesting 
of the roots. In fact, the whole work in the field, 
after the soil is once properly broken up, calls for no 
extraordinary labor. A good deal of the work can 
be done by boys. Machines do the washing, the 
grinding or .cutting, and general handling of the 

* The average price of the best quality of loaf sugar (crushed) from 
sugar beets was in Germany during the years 1868-69, but $11 'per 
100 pounds. 



35 

roots to the centrifugal apparatus. The task of 
handling the pulp of beet roots for the press requires, 
comparatively speaking, a large supply of hands to 
do the business connected with that process, but 
Roberts' diflfusion method dispenses with a large 
number of the hands formerly required in the press- 
room — nearly one-half. 

A report concerning the influence of Eoberts' 
method on the financial results of an establishment 
which formerly used the press mode for obtaining 
the beet juice may illustrate the previous statement, 
and at the same time give some clearer idea about 
the importance of the labor question, as far as its 
relative bearing on the financial success of the entire 
manufacturing operation is concerned. 200,000 
pounds of beet roots needed per day (twenty-four 
hours' actual work) in the press-room, eighteen men, 
fifty-two girls and twenty-eight boys to perform the 
handling of the pulp and cakes, whilst after the intro- 
duction of the diffusion mode of Roberts, but twenty- 
six men and ten boys attended to the separation of 
the juice. The saving of one-half the expenses in 
that department during a campaign of one hundred 
and fifty days amounted to much, yet in summing up 
the entire gain due to a change of operation, it is of 
some interest to notice that but one-sixth of the extra 
earnings of the manufacturer was caused by saving in 
the expenses of labor. I call attention to this instance 
to show that an extra cost of hand labor does not 
affect after all the chances of success to such a degree 
as is frequently asserted. The margin for profits is 
larger here than in many other branches of business. 
The real success of the beet-sugar industry, in its, 
present high state of development, depends, in my 
opinion, with us far more on an intelligent and close 
attention to the details of its various operations in the 
field and in the factory than on any other requirement.* 

* My particular thanks are due to Messrs. John E. Kinjr and John 
B. Minor, students of the College, for valuable assistance rendereci 
during my investigations. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




000 931 369 2 



THE AMERICAIV CHE^IIST. 

A Mnnthlv Journal of Theoretical, Analytical, and 
Teclinical Cliemistry. Ediu-d and published by CHARLES 
F. CHAMDLEU. Ph. D., Professor of Aiialytieal and Applied Chem- 
istry, in the School of Mines, Ci>luinJ)ia CoUeire, and WILLIAM H. 
CHANDLEll. Professor of Ciiemistry in the Lehigh University, at 
Bethlehem, Pa. 

With the assistance of M. Alsbkrg. Ph. D., Prof. G. F. Bakkkr, 
T. M. Blossom, E. M.. H. C. Bolton, Ph. D., Prof. T. Egleston, 
E. M., H. En-demaxx. Ph. D.. Prof. C. A. Goessmaxx. Ph. D., Prof. 
C. A. Joy. Ph. D., J. P. Kimball, Ph. 1)., H. Newtox, E. M., Prof. 
Frederick Piumij. Jr., Paul Smiweitzer, Ph. D., Waldrox Shap- 
LEiGii, A. C, and Elwix Waller, E. M. 

This Journal is the medium of communication for the 
chemists of the countiy ; not only those who are engaged 
in theoretical investigation, but also those who are devo- 
ted to the practical application of chemistr}^' to the arts. 

The American Chemist is published in monthly num- 
bers, each number ccmtaining forty double column 
quarto pages of reading matter. 

It contains original Articles ; Reprints and Transla 
tions of the most important Articles published in this 
and other countries: Reports of Chemical Lectures; 
Abstracts of all original Articles on Chemistr}" which 
are published in other Journals, and in the transactions 
of Learned Societies; Notices of Books; Lists of Chem- 
ical Patents granted at Washington; Current Xews 
relating to Chemists and to Chemistry ; Questions from, 
and Answers to Correspondents. 

It is the intention of the Editors to i)laee before its readers every- 
thinir that will be of interest to Chemists and those who are engaged 
in Chemical Pxirsiiits. 

To this end arrangements have been made by which over one bnn- 
dred different Journals are now received regularly, from England, 
France. P>flirium, Italy. Germany, Russia and America, and carefully 
examined for the benefit of its readers. 

Send 2octs. for Specinien Copy. 

Subscription, $5.00 per annum, in advance; 50cts per number. 
Address C. F. & W. H. CHANDLER, 

School of Mines, Columbia College, 49th St., Cor. 4tli Av., New York. 



